The Bangladesh fans did everything they could. They donned the national colours, carried the Bengal tiger mascot and their chants of ‘ Joy Bangla’ echoed across the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
It’s a tradition that these fans, who are regular in almost every Bangladesh fixture across the globe, follow.
But so far in the World Cup, they have had more heartbreaks than celebrations. After a winning start against Afghanistan, Bangladesh has lost four games on the trot - the latest being a 149-run defeat against South Africa. These setbacks have taken the fizz out of Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign, and chances of making it to the semifinals look bleak.
Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, too, did not sound optimistic. “We would still like to finish up the table, if not semifinalists, then fifth or sixth,” Shakib told official broadcasters, making it clear that in the remaining four matches, Bangladesh’s aim would be to restore some pride.
Over the last few years, Bangladesh has had a similar fate in ICC tournaments.
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Leading up to the event, the players, the country’s cricket board and the travelling media contingent have great expectations - only to be dejected once the action begins. This time around, things have been messier. At a time when most teams were busy fine-tuning their squads, the Bangladesh cricket team was caught in a tangle between the two stars of the team - captain Shakib and erstwhile skipper Tamim Iqbal.
Just before the Asia Cup, Tamim quit captaincy and even announced a retirement, only to make a U-turn after the intervention of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, a back injury forced Tamim out of the Asian tournament and even though the BCB tried dousing the fire, stories of a feud between the two icons of the game made headlines, and ultimately, it led to the ouster of Tamim, just a couple of days before the team was about to leave for India.
“Things went haywire over the last three months, with so many turns of events - from Tamim’s injury to him announcing retirement, making a comeback and Shakib taking over again. And those changes in such a short time seem to have affected the entire process,” Mohammad Ashraful, a former Bangladesh captain, who is now a commentator, told Sportstar.
Ashraful is among the many who believe that the BCB could have handled the issue better for the sake of the nation.
“The BCB could have handled it better by making both of them sit together and iron out the issues,” Ashraful said. “Tamim is such a senior player and until three months ago, we were faring well in ODIs under his captaincy. We won the series in South Africa (in March 2022) and beat quite a few big teams - including India - so we were in good shape…”
Fans cheer for Bangladesh’s team during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between South Africa and Bangladesh at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on October 24, 2023. | Photo Credit: AFP
If leaving out Tamim was one of the major setbacks, there seemed to be some ambiguity over the selection of a few senior players - the most prominent being Mahmadullah.
The seasoned batter, who scored his fourth ODI century on Tuesday against South Africa, returned to the fold during the home series against New Zealand after being in the wilderness for about six months. Even though the national selectors termed it as a ‘rest’, Mahmdullah said, “I think there was a little too much rest for me. It was not in my control. It was the decision of the team management. If I can do my job honestly, it is good enough for me and the team…”
“I can’t say anything regarding that time (when I was out of the national team). I do want to talk about a lot of things but this is not the right time to talk about all those things,” Mahmudullah said after the game against South Africa.
Throughout the tournament, he has batted at No.6 - a position that’s not tailor-made for him. But Mahmadullah didn’t want to make a fuss out of it.
So far in the tournament, inconsistency in every department has hurt the team. Except for the game against India in Pune, the Bangladesh openers have not had a partnership beyond 93 runs. Though Litton Das scored half-centuries against India and England, he failed to get going in crunch situations.
The team has had lots of expectations from Mehidy Hasan Miraz, but he has flattered to deceive. Ever since scoring a half-century and claiming three wickets in the opener against Afghanistan, Miraz has struggled with the willow; and it has been a similar story with captain Shakib. Considered one of the finest all-rounders, Shakib has looked like a shadow of his former self - scoring just 56 runs in four innings and claiming six wickets.
The lack of a good start and a wobbly middle-order has made things difficult for Bangladesh. And adding to its woes, the fast bowling department - spearheaded by Mustafizur Rahman - has also been off-colour.
Mustafizur and Taskin Ahmed have collectively bagged four wickets in the tournament, whereas the young Shoriful Islam has been the only bright spot, claiming six wickets. On spin-friendly surfaces, the lack of a quality tweaker has troubled the team.
On paper, it still has mathematical chances of making it to the last-four, but even Shakib and the team management know that it’s an uphill task, given the fact that its next four opponents will be The Netherlands, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.
Like every other time, Bangladesh came into the World Cup with a lot of hope, but after some below-par performances, the team has very little to look forward to.
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